The 10 most notorious Oscar snubs of all time

There's always drama around this time of year after the Oscar nominations are delivered like anvils of theatrical success, with the weight borne even more heavily by those who are left without one.

Let’s be real for a second; the Academy Awards are not the Nuremberg Trials. They’re about super rich people patting themselves on the back so that they can earn even more money and be watched by even more millions of people. Some people seem to be perpetual favourites - hello, Meryl Streep - and others not so lucky.

This year Leonardo DiCaprio (as usual), Ben Affleck and Nicole Kidman are all among the surprising non-starters in the awards race. Today, we’re celebrating the overlooked underdog with ten misser-outerers over the years.

10. Anthony Perkins in Psycho, 1960

His character Norman Bates contributed a whole lot of creepiness to this classic, yet all the praise was showered (deservingly) upon the star, Janet Leigh, with not even a nomination to his name.

9. Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby, 1968Her co-star Ruth Gordon took away an Oscar for playing Rosemary’s crazy neighbour, but Mia Farrow’s more subtle performance – as the mother-to-be of Satan, no less, she was tortured enough to drive you to paranoia – in Roman Polanski’s iconic horror, left Mia Farrow out of the Oscar race completely.

8. Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange, 1971

Again, the 'cult role in a cult film but no Oscar' pattern emerges. It takes a considerable amount of talent to express the brutality exuded and then endured by Alex DeLarge. It’s worth noting, too, that not even Hitchcock, unarguably one of the greatest directors of all time, has ever scored an Academy Award. But then again, does it make the slightest difference to those who appreciate his work? Doubtful.